SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% to 15% chance of M-class solar flares during the next 24 hours. The likely source would be sunspot AR1575, near the center of the solar disk. The odds are low, but if a flare occurs in AR1575, it will be Earth-directed.

FARSIDE EXPLOSION:An active region on the farside of the sun exploded on Sept. 23rd, hurling a bright coronal mass ejection over the sun's eastern limb. Orbiting at the L1 Lagrange Point, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded the expanding cloud: [go to: www.spaceweather.com]

The cloud is not heading for Earth. Nor is any other planet in the line of fire. In a few days, however, the sun's rotation will turn the blast site toward Earth. After that, eruptions could become geoeffective. www.spaceweather.com